The switch to the more corrosive river water without the DEQ requiring the addition of corrosion control chemicals resulted in lead leaching into the drinking water and a spike in lead levels in the blood of Flint children.

Experts have suggested that 90 percent of the problems associated with water from the Flint River could have been prevented if an anti-corrosive agent had been used to treat the water after shifting from Lake Huron as a primary water source.

While most of the attention to Flint has rightly focused on the lead poisoning, the corrosive water flowing for almost two years through copper and lead pipes led to multiple outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease.

For gay men who marched on the frontlines in the battle for civil rights, acceptance and survival through the AIDS crisis, the seeming indifference of younger generations to those sacrifices and struggles can be corrosive.

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'corrosive.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.